Oxygen generator

ABSTRACT

A device for containing an alkali metal chlorate candle which is burned to produce oxygen. The device includes a generally cylindrical housing having an end cap which closes the interior of the housing. A tray for holding the candle is secured to the end cap and is withdrawn from the housing when the end cap is removed. A filter is mounted on the end cap for easy replacement.

ilnited States Patent Finley Jan. 14, 1975 OXYGEN GENERATOR 3,580,2505/1971 Oroza 23/2111 x Inventor: Carl E ey, yc e, I. 3,756,785 9/1973Netteland 23/281 [73] Assignee: Olin Corporation, New Haven, FOREIGNPATEFQTS OR APPLICATIONS Conn 672,924 2/1939 (icrmany 23/281 Filed: 11973 Primary Examiner-loscph Scovronck [21] Appl 3 7 AvsistunlExaminer-Barry l. Hollander Attorney, Agent, or FirmDonald R. Motsko; H.Samuel Kicser; William W. Jones [52] US. Cl 23/281, 60/205, 102/39,

128/191 R, 239/575, 431/344 57 ABSTRACT [51] Int. Cl A6lm 15/00, B01j7/00 l [58] Field of Search 0 23/281 6O/2O5 A devlce for contaming analkall metal chlorate can- 102/39. 6 239}307 128/191 dle which is burnedto produce oxygen. The device in- R 431/344 cludes a generallycylindrical housing having an end cap which closes the interior of thehousing. A tray for [56] References Cited holding the candle is securedto the end cap and is withdrawn from the housing when the end cap is re-UNITED STATES PATENTS moved. A filter is mounted on the end cap for easyre- 874,596 12 1907 Janet 23/281 placement 1,212,281 1 1917 Talbot23/282 2,983,588 5/1961 Bovard 23/281 1 Claim, 3 Drawing Figures Z 42 l41? C 22 42 II T I l 11 1 1 m] l f4 VI/430:2, I T i l 1 l a 44 Z4 [8 /4 1OXYGEN GENERATOR This invention relates to a device for containing analkali metal chlorate candle which candle is burned to produce oxygenfor use in life support systems, oxy-fuel torches, and other suchapplications.

The provision of oxygen for use in life support systems, oxy-fueltorches, and the like has been made by utilizing cylinders containingoxygen under pressure, such cylinders being quite heavy, bulky, and notreadily adaptable with highly mobile or portable systems. The provisionof oxygen for such applications has also been made by the more desirableuse of alkali metal chlorate candles which, when burned, produce oxygen.The latter more readily lends itselfto use with light weight portablesystems of the type described due to the light weight of the chloratecandles.

When a chlorate candle is burned to produce oxygen the candle must becontained in some sort of housing so that burning the candle is renderedsafe, and so that the oxygen produced can be readily filtered anddispensed. Ideally the housing in which the candle is burned should berelatively inexpensive to make, of relatively simple construction, andyet sturdy enough to contain the candle and its pressurized gaseousproduct. The housing should also be amenable to easy loading with newcandles and unloading of consumed candle ash. Provision should also bemade to filter the produced oxygen, with the filter being easilyreplaceable.

The prior art candle-holding oxygen generators have, for the most part,been of relatively bulky construction, thus failing to maximize on oneof the primary attributes of chlorate candles, e.g. their relativelysmall size. The prior art which most closely makes use of the size ofthe chlorate candles to produce a lightweight, portable oxygen generatoris typified by US. Pat. No. 2,775,511, issued Dec. 25, 1956 to R.Geffroy et al.; and US. Pat. No. 3,253,787, issued May 31, 1966 to K. E.Stutzman.

The oxygen generator of this invention is highly portable, provides foreasy insertion and removal of fresh and consumed candles, and readilychangeable filtering. The generator includes a generally tubular housingmember which is preferably formed of extruded aluminum, or other highlyefficient heat-conducting metal, and which preferably includeslongitudinally extending integral fins externally to readily dissipateheat produced when the chlorate candles are burned. A plug with ablowout bladder closes one end of the housing, and a cap closes theother end of the housing. The cap is preferably press fitted into thehousing bore and held in place by a rubber gasket or collar so as to bemanually removable from the housing. A tray is mounted on the cap andextends therefrom into the housing, the candle being positioned on thetray for burning. The cap is also provided with a dispensing valveassembly which opens into an external fitting adapted to be connected toa hose through which the oxygen passes. A preferably conical filter isfrictionally mounted on the cap adjacent the tray so as to be readilyremovable from the housing for handy changing of the filter when thelatter becomes clogged.

It is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide an oxygengenerator of the type utilizing a chlorate candle which is burned toproduce oxygen.

It is a further object of this invention to provide an oxygen generatorof the character described wherein provision is made for handily loadingand unloading fresh and used candles respectively from a housing.

It is yet another object of this invention to provide an oxygengenerator of the character described having provision for readilychanging the filter when the latter becomes clogged.

It is an additional object of this invention to provide an oxygengenerator of the character described which is inexpensive and of simpleconstruction.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will become morereadily apparent from the following detailed description of a preferredembodiment of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the oxygengenerator of this invention used in association with a torch in anoxy-propane torch assemy;

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view ofthe oxygen generator ofFIG. 1 showing the internal construction thereof; and

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view of a pressure relief valve on thegenerator showing the relief valve being blown open to relieve excesspressure within the generator.

Referring now to the drawings, the oxygen generator, indicated generallyby the numeral 2 is shown used as part of a portable oxy-propane torch.The torch includes a conventional torch head to which are connectedflexible conduits 6 and 8 which lead to the oxygen generator 2 and apropane fuel tank 10 respectively. A conventional mixing chamber isdisposed in the torch head 4 for intermixing the oxygen and propane.

The oxygen generator 2 includes a generally tubular housing 12preferably formed of extruded aluminum, or some other material havingefficient heat conducting properties. The housing 12 is formed withexternal longitudinally extending ribs 14 which serve to dissipate heatfrom the inside of the housing produced when a chlorate candle is burnedtherein. The bottom or rearward end of the housing 12 is closed by a cap16 having a bore 15 which opens into a smaller bore 17 communieatingwith the interior of the housing 12. A hollow plug 20 is positioned inthe bore 15, the plug having a through passage 19. The plug 20 serves toretain a rubber diaphragm 18 in place within the bore 15 to seal theplug bore 19 at lower pressures. In the event that fluid pressure withinthe housing builds to an undesirable level, the diaphragm 18 willcollapse and be dislodged in the bore 19 to open the latter thus ventingthe housing interior to the atmosphere, as shown in FIG. 3.

A cap 22, which may be formed of rigid plastic material, closes off thefront or top end of the housing 12. The cap 22 has a neck 24 on which ismounted a rubber collar 26. The collar 26 provides a sealed friction fitwith a bore 28 in the housing 12. The cap 22 includes an internaltransverse wall 30 having a bore 32 in which is mounted a fitting 34.The fitting 34 includes a through passage 36 and a stem 38 on which ismounted the hose 6. The remainder of the fitting 34 is externallythreaded to receive a nut 40 and a check valve housing 42 which combineto hold the fitting 34 tightly in the bore 32. A ball 44 is looselymounted in the valve housing 42 and cooperates with a valve seat 46 toform a one way check valve which prevents gas from flowing backward fromthe hose 6 into the housing 12, but permits gas to flow forward from thehousing 12 to the hose 6.

A conical filtering member 48 is mounted on the valve housing 42 andextends into the interior of the housing 12. The conical shape of thefilter 48 provides increased filtering area and thus increased filterlife when compared to conventional filter pads. The conical shape of thefilter 48 also permits the filter to be pressed down over the valvehousing 42 thus connecting the filter 48 to the cap 22.

An elongated tray 50 is disposed in the housing 12 and carries thechlorate candle C (shown in phantom). The tray 50 includes a bottom wall52 on whichthe candle C rests, upturned side walls 54, and upturnedrearward end wall 56, and an upturned forward end wall 58 having anopening 60. The tray 50 is connected to the cap 22 by passing thefitting 34 through the opening 60 and trapping the tray end wall 58between the valve housing 42 and the inside surface 62 of the captransverse wall 30.

The oxygen generator operates in the following manner. Assuming that afresh candle is to be placed in the housing 12, the cap 22 is manuallypulled free of the housing 12, thus withdrawing the tray 50 from thehousing 12. A candle is then placed on the tray 50 and ignited with amatch, or the like. The tray 50 is then reinserted into the housing 12and the rubber collar 26 is pushed firmly into the housing counterbore28 to affix the cap 22 to the housing 12. As the candle C burns, oxygenis produced which raises the gas pressure within the sealed housing 12.The oxygen flows through the filter 48, the valve housing 42 and thepassage 36 into the hose 6. The oxygen then passes through the hose 6 tobe used for whatever purpose the generator is put to. To remove aconsumed candle from the generator, one need merely pull the cap 22 awayfrom the housing 12 so as to withdraw the tray 50 from the housinginterior. The consumed candle is then merely dumped from the tray andreplaced with a fresh candle. To replace the filter 48, the cap 22 ispulled away from the housing 12 and the filter 48 is pulled off of thevalve housing 42 and a new filter is pushed onto the valve housing.

It will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that the oxygengenerator of this invention is of simplified construction and yetreadily provides for improved performance, portability and servicing.The candles are easily inserted into and withdrawn from the generator byproviding a candle tray which is secured to the closure cap of thegenerator. The valve housing serves several purposes in addition tovalving oxygen from the generator, particularly it secures the tray tothe cap and provides means for mounting the filter to the cap. Further,the hollow conical shape of the filter provides improved filteringcapacity and an inherent facility for mounting the filter to the valvehousing.

Since manychanges andvariations of the disclosed embodiment of theinvention may be made without departing from the inventive concept, itis not intended to limit the invention otherwise than as required by theappended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. An oxygen generating device for use with a combustableoxygen-producing candle, said device comprising:

a. a generally tubular housing having a hollow interior and an open endportion;

b. a cap removably secured to said open end portion of said housing toclose the latter;

c. fitting means providing a fluid passage through said cap to allowoxygen gas to exit from said housing interior;

d. check valve means including a valve housing secured to said fittingmeans for controlling oxygen gas flow from said housing;

e. a tray disposed in said housing interior for supporting a candleduring combustion thereof, said tray including a portion thereofsandwiched between said cap and said valve housing whereby said tray issecured to said cap and removed from said housing interior when said capis withdrawn from said open end portion of said housing; and

f. a hollow filter member having an open basal portion which istelescoped over and removably mounted on said valve housing to filteroxygen gas flowing from said housing.

1. AN OXYGEN GENERATING DEVICE FOR USE WITH A COMBUSTABLE OXYGEN-PRODUCTCANDLE, SAID DEVICE COMPRISING: A. A GENERALLY TUBLAR HOUSING HAVING AHOLLOW INTERIOR AND AN OPEN END PORTION; B. A CAP REMOVABLY SECURED TOSAID OPEN END PORTION OF SAID HOUSING TO CLOSE THE LATTER; C. FITTINGMEANS PROVIDING A FLUID PASSAGE THROUGH SAID CAP TO ALLOW OXYGEN GAS TOEXIT FROM SAID HOUSING ENTERIOR; D. CHECK VALVE MEANS INCLUDING A VALVEHOUSING SECURED TO SAID FITTING MEANS FOR CONTROLLING OXYGEN GAS FLOWFROM SAID HOUSING; E. A TRAY DISPOSED IN SAID HOUSING INTERIOR FORSUPPORTING A CANDLE DURING COMBUSTION THEREOF, SAID TRAY INCLUDING APORTION THEREOF SANDWICHED BETWEEN SAID CAP AND SAID VALVE HOUSINGWHEREBY SAID TRAY IS SESCURED TO SAID CAP AND REMOVED FROM SAID HOUSINGINTERIOR WHEN SAID CAP IS WITHDRAWN FROM SAID OPEN END PORTION OF SAIDHOUSING; AND F. A HOLLOW FILTER MEMBER HAVING AN OPEN BASAL PORTIONWHICH IS TELESCOPED OVER AND REMOVABLY MOUNTED ON SAID VALVE HOUSING TOFILTER OXYGEN GAS FLOWING FROM SAID HOUSING.